Updates, advisories and surprises

(8:07 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Cisco Systems Inc.
CSCO, -0.48%
predicted a revenue range for its third fiscal quarter in line with Wall Street analyst expecations. The firm's guided earnings-per-share range was in line with prior forecasts. The forecast was given on Wednesday afternoon during a conference call to discuss the company's fiscal second-quarter results. Cisco said it expects revenue in the current period to grow within a range of 4%-6% from the same period last year. Analysts were expecting growth of 5.3% for the period. Earnings per share, on an adjusted basis, is expected to come in the range of 48-50 cents a share; analysts had been expecting earnings of 49 cents a share for the period, according to consensus estimates from FactSet.

MetLife posts lower profit after derivatives loss

(5:33 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- MetLife Inc.
MET, -0.37%
reported Wednesday a fourth-quarter net profit of $127 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a profit of $959 million, or 90 cents a share, a year ago, after heavy derivatives losses. Total operating revenues topped $18.4 billion, from $16.3 billion in the same quarter in 2011. Shares of MetLife were down 0.1% in after-hours trading. Superstorm Sandy impacted results by $70 million, or $0.06 per share, after taxes, the company said. The Sandy losses were above the company's quarterly plan provision, but were partly offset by $13 million in favorable claim development in prior years.

Whole Foods down 5% on weaker same-store sales

(4:38 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Whole Foods Market
WFM, +0.27%
Wednesday missed the fiscal first-quarter consensus estimate for sales at its existing stores, sending the stock down 5% in late trades. Whole Foods said comparable-store sales rose 7.2% for the quarter ended Jan. 20. Moreover, the natural-foods chain said same-store sales grew 6.4% from Jan. 21 through Feb. 12 -- a slower rate than the first several weeks of recent quarters. Whole Foods maintained its full-year profit forecast for earnings of $2.83 to $2.87 a share. However, the grocer said its expects its gross margin to slip, partly due to its ongoing price-cutting strategy. For its fiscal first quarter, Whole Foods posted a profit of $146 million, or 78 cents a share, up from $118 million, or 65 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 14% to $3.9 billion. In after-hours trade, Whole Foods stock was at $92.18. Since Jan.1, the stock is up 6%; its 52-week high is $101.87.

Nvidia profit rises on strong sales

(4:30 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Nvidia Corp.
NVDA, -2.17%
on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $173.97 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with a profit of $116.03 million, or 19 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $1.11 billion, from $953.19 million. Adjusted profit was 35 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet on average were expecting the chip maker to post a profit of 24 cents a share, on revenue of $1.10 billion. For the current quarter, Nvidia expects revenue of $940 million, plus or minus 2%. Analysts were expecting revenue of $1.07 billion, according to data from FactSet. Nvidia shares were up a fraction in after-hours trading.

Angie's List swings to a $2.4 million profit

(4:29 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Angie's List Inc.
ANGI, +1.07%
on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $2.4 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $46.2 million, compared with a loss of $5.9 million, or 14 cents a share, on $27.4 million in sales in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast the online professional-services recommendation company to lose 2 cents a share on revenue of $46 million. For its first-quarter, Angie's List estimates revenue of $51 million to $52 million, while analysts had forecast sales of $49.5 million. Angie's List shares climbed as much as 9% in after-hours trading following the release of its results.

Applied profit falls, but results beat Street

(4:10 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Applied Materials Inc.
AMAT, -2.16%
on Wednesday reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of $34 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $117 million, or 9 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue dropped to $1.57 billion, from $2.19 billion. Adjusted profit was 6 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet on average were expecting the chip equipment maker to report a profit of 3 cents a share, on revenue of $1.56 billion. For the current quarter, Applied expects revenue to rise 15% to 25% from the previous quarter, and adjusted profit in the range of 9 cents to 15 cents a share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 11 cents a share, on revenue of $1.81 billion, according to data from FactSet. Shares of Applied were up 1.3% in after-hours trading.

Cisco earnings rise, beating Street views

(4:09 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Cisco Systems Inc.
CSCO, -0.48%
reported a small gain in adjusted earnings for its second fiscal quarter on Wednesday, helped by growing sales of its networking and corporate IT gear. For the quarter ended Jan. 26, Cisco reported net income of $3.1 billion, or 59 cents a share, compared to net income of $2.2 billion, or 40 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.7 billion, or 51 cents a share. Revenue rose 5% to $12.1 billion. Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of 48 cents a share on revenue of $12.07 billion, according to consensus estimates from FactSet.

NetApp earnings rise almost 32%

(4:08 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- NetApp Inc.
NTAP, +0.17%
on Wednesday reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $158 million, or 43 cents a share, on $1.63 billion in sales. During the same period a year ago, the data-storage technology company earned $120 million, or 32 cents a share, on revenue of $1.57 billion. Excluding one-time items, NetApp would have earned $243 million, or 67 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast NetApp to earn 56 cents a share on $1.62 billion in revenue. For its fiscal fourth-quarter, NetApp forecast earnings excluding one-time items of 65 cents to 70 cents a share on revenue in a range of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion.

Deere first-quarter earnings rise 22%

(7:55 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Deere & Company
DE, -0.45%
said Wednesday its first-quarter profit ending January 31, was $649.7 million or $1.65 a share, up from $532.9 million, or $1.30 per share, from a year earlier. The equipment and tool maker's revenue was up 10% to $7.42 billion compared to $6.77 billion the year before. Net equipment sales were $6.80 billion compared to $6.12 billion a year earlier. This was the eleventh consecutive quarter of record earnings for the company, Chairman and Chief Executive Samuel R. Allen said in a statement. For 2013, the company expects equipment sales for fiscal 2013 to be up 6% and up 4% for the second-quarter versus the year-ago period. Net income is expected to be close to $3.3 billion for the fiscal year.

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